Now That You're Here, by Amy K. Nichols

Now That You're Here, the debut novel from Amy K. Nichols, has an absolutely gorgeous cover and an intriguing premise. Sadly, the story never quite lives up to the promise of either cover or premise, but it's only the first installment of a two-book series, and I think things might improve.

Now That You're Here is told from alternating perspectives. Eevee is a quiet science geek from our world; Danny is a quick-thinking, rebellious graffiti artist from a darker and more dangerous parallel universe. When an explosion inexplicably thrusts Danny from his world into this one, he realizes that Eevee's scientific knowledge (and that of her even nerdier friend Warren) may be his only way back home. Further complicating matters, Eevee and Danny promptly tumble into love—although they're acutely aware that returning Danny to his home universe will separate them forever.

For a sci-fi novel, Now That You're Here features a lot of seemingly unrelated details. What was the point of including Eevee and Danny's nasty English teacher? Eevee's unconventional family situation? Warren's potentially shady love interest? It's possible these characters/issues will play a larger role in the second book, of course, but I felt like they sucked up space that would have been better spent exploring the main plot: Eevee and Danny's romance, and their attempts to build a machine to return Danny to his home universe.

That being said, I give full props to Ms. Nichols for believing that what teen girls want to read is a book about parallel universes, fractals, and the space-time continuum (particularly when said parallel universes spit out a hot guy who instantly falls in love with her geeky heroine). I just hope her next book goes with a more streamlined version of the kind of story she wants to tell—more romantic drama and edgy sci-fi; less parental drama and tetchy English teachers.

Review based on publisher-provided copy.